Critique Media Statistics
Is This a Good Claim?
Circle whether the evidence sounds strong or weak.
'9 out of 10 dentists recommend our toothpaste' — only 10 dentists asked
'Most Australians prefer our brand' — survey of 5,000 people across all states
'Our school is the best' — one student won a prize
'Crime has increased' — based on 10 years of police data
More Claim Evaluation
Circle whether the evidence sounds strong or weak.
'This diet works!' — tested on 3 people for 1 week
'Students are reading more' — based on 5 years of library data
'Everyone loves our product' — 100% approval in a company survey
'Exercise reduces stress' — study of 2,000 people over 2 years
Match the Problem
Match each statistical problem to its name.
Sort: Reliable or Unreliable Source?
Sort each source.
What Makes a Survey Reliable?
Answer each question.
Why is a larger sample size better? ___
Why should a survey include diverse people? ___
What is a 'biased' question? Give an example: ___
Question the Claim
Write one question to check if each claim is reliable.
Claim: '80% of kids love our cereal!' Question: ___
Claim: 'Test scores have dropped this year.' Question: ___
Claim: 'This is the safest car on the road.' Question: ___
Spot the Problem
Circle the main problem.
'4 out of 5 kids prefer our drink' — company paid for survey
Graph shows sales 'doubled' but y-axis goes from 98 to 102
'Average house price is $1.2M' — suburb has a few mansions
More Problem Spotting
Circle the main issue.
'90% agree!' — online poll anyone could take multiple times
Bar graph where one bar is wider than the other
'Crime is skyrocketing' — based on one month
Misleading Graphs
Explain how each technique can be misleading.
Starting the y-axis at a number other than 0: ___
Using pictures of different sizes instead of bars: ___
Leaving out data points that don't support the argument: ___
Rewrite the Claim
Rewrite each misleading claim to make it more honest.
Original: 'Everyone loves our product!' Better: ___
Original: 'Test scores have skyrocketed!' Better: ___
Original: '9 out of 10 recommend us!' Better: ___
Sample Size Matters
Circle the more reliable sample size for each survey.
Survey about favourite food:
Survey about exercise habits:
Testing a new medicine:
Student satisfaction survey:
Sort: Biased or Unbiased Question?
Sort each survey question.
Write Your Critique
Write a critique explaining why someone should be cautious.
Claim: 'Our app improved test scores by 50%!' Study tested 8 students over 2 weeks. Critique:
Claim: 'Eating chocolate makes you smarter!' Countries with more chocolate sales have more Nobel Prize winners. Critique:
Correlation vs Causation
Explain why correlation does not mean causation.
Ice cream sales and drowning rates both rise in summer. Does ice cream cause drowning? ___
Students who eat breakfast get better grades. Does breakfast cause better grades? ___
Design a Fair Survey
Design a fair survey about screen time.
Write 3 unbiased questions: ___
How many people would you survey and why? ___
How would you make your sample representative? ___
Home Activity: Media Detective
Find and critique statistics in the real world!
- 1Find a statistic in a newspaper or online ad. Write down the claim.
- 2Ask: How many people surveyed? Who paid? Is the graph fair?
- 3Rewrite a misleading claim to make it more honest.
- 4Create your own fair survey question about a topic you care about.
- 5Find an ad using statistics. List 3 reasons it might be misleading.
Match the Graph Type to Its Bias
Match each graph feature to the type of bias it creates.
Spot the Misleading Claim
Circle the option that correctly identifies the problem.
Graph shows y-axis from 98 to 102. Problem?
Survey of 5 people used to claim '80% of Australians'?
Headline: 'Crime doubled!' (8 to 16 incidents). Problem?
Survey done by the company selling the product?
Sort: Fair vs Misleading
Sort each statement into the correct column.
Evaluate a Media Statistic
Read this claim and answer the questions below.
Claim: '9 out of 10 dentists recommend our toothpaste' — how many were surveyed? ___
What information is missing? ___
How would you verify this claim? ___
Track Misleading Techniques
Fill in the tally chart as you analyse these headlines.
| Item | Tally | Total |
|---|---|---|
Small sample | ||
Biased source | ||
Misleading graph | ||
Correlation = causation |
Rewrite the Headline
Rewrite each headline to make it more honest.
Original: 'Our supplement helps 4 in 5 users lose weight!' (study: 5 friends, 1 week). Rewrite: ___
Original: 'Coffee linked to success — successful people drink more coffee!' Rewrite: ___
Original: 'City crime up 200%!' (2 crimes last year, 6 this year). Rewrite: ___
Comparing Survey Sizes
This graph shows how many people were surveyed in each study. Each star = 100 people. Answer the questions.
| Study A | |
| Study B | |
| Study C | |
| Study D | |
| Study E |
Which study is most reliable? Why?
Which study should you be most sceptical of?
How many people total across all studies?
Sample Size and Reliability
Answer the questions about sample size.
Why does a larger sample give more reliable results? ___
Survey 1: 12 students. Survey 2: 500 students. Same result. Which do you trust more and why? ___
What is the minimum sample size you would consider reliable? ___
Order of Credibility
Number these sources 1 (most reliable) to 5 (least reliable).
Graph Scale Investigation
Two graphs show the same data but look very different.
Graph A y-axis: 0–100. Graph B y-axis: 40–60. Same data. Which looks more dramatic? ___
Which graph is misleading and why? ___
How would you fix Graph B? ___
Choose the Better Question
Circle the more unbiased survey question.
Asking about diet:
Asking about school:
Asking about sport:
Asking about screen time:
Mean vs Median in the Media
A company claims 'Our workers earn an average of $90,000.'
Salaries: $30k, $35k, $40k, $45k, $390k. Mean = ___
Median = ___
Which is more representative? Why? ___
Why might the company choose to use the mean? ___
Classify the Evidence
Sort each type of evidence into the correct column.
Create a Fair Infographic Plan
Plan a fair data infographic about screen time in Australia.
Where would you source your data? ___
What graph type would you use and why? ___
What information would you include to show it's trustworthy? ___
The SIFT Method
Use SIFT (Stop, Investigate, Find better sources, Trace claims) to evaluate a statistic.
Statistic you found: ___
Stop — what is your first reaction? ___
Investigate the source: ___
Find a second source that confirms or denies: ___
Trace the original claim back to: ___
Percentage Change
Circle the correct interpretation.
Sales went from 100 to 120. Change?
Prices fell from 200 to 150. Change?
Enrolment doubled from 50 to 100. Change?
From 80 to 60. Change?
Statistical Literacy Reflection
Reflect on what you have learned about reading statistics critically.
Three questions I now ask when I see a statistic: ___
A real example where statistics were used misleadingly: ___
Why is statistical literacy an important life skill? ___
Match the Logical Fallacy
Match each fallacy name to its description.
Percentage vs Absolute Numbers
Decide whether percentage or absolute number is more meaningful.
Disease doubled — from 2 cases to 4 cases. More alarming: 100% increase or 2 extra cases? ___
Tax cut: 1% — means $10 to a minimum wage worker, $10,000 to a millionaire. What does % hide? ___
Write your own example where absolute numbers matter more than percentages: ___
Write a Data Story
Use real or invented data to write a short, fair news article.
Topic: ___
Data source: ___
Key statistic: ___
Fair interpretation: ___
What other information would help readers understand? ___